fuck all that we’ve got to get on with these
got to compete with the wily japanese
there’s too many home fires burning
and not enough trees
so fuck all that
we’ve got to get on with these
can’t stop lose job mind gone silicon
what bomb get away pay day make hay
break down need fix big six
clickity click hold on oh no brrrrrrrrrring bingo!
make em laugh make em cry make em dance in the aisles
make em pay make em stay make em feel ok

not now john
we’ve got to get on with the film show
hollywood waits at the end of the rainbow
who cares what it’s all about
as long as the kids go
not now john
got to get on with the show

hang on john
we’ve got to get on with this
i don’t know what it is
but it fits on here like this …
come at the end of the shift
we’ll go and get pissed
but not now john
i’ve got to get on with this

hold on john
i think there’s something good on
i used to read books but …
it could be the news
or some other amusement
or it could be reusable shows

fuck all that we’ve got to get on with these
got to compete with the wily japanese
no need to worry about the vietnamese
got to bring the russian bear to his knees
well, maybe not the russian bear
maybe the swedes
we showed argentina
now let’s go and show these
make us feel tough
and won’t maggie be pleased
nah nah nah nah nah nah!

s’cusi dove il bar
se para collo pou eine toe bar
s’il vous plait ou est le bar
oi’ where’s the fucking bar john!

“Not Now John” is a song from Pink Floyd’s 1983 album, “The Final Cut“. The track is the only song from the album featuring the vocals of David Gilmour, found in the chorus of the lyrics, with Waters singing the stanzas (all other tracks are sung solely by Roger Waters). The song was released as a single in modified form, with the word “fuck” obscured. The song was also the only official single released from the album.

The lyrics, written by Roger Waters, deal with war (particularly the Falklands War) and criticism of UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, as well as general criticisms of the greed and corruption that Waters saw as dangers to society. It also shows the corruptible and fruitless labor of post-war America, Europe and Japan. The wording is such that it mainly tells of the changing of global trade and that a new leader is emerging in the consumer goods industry, Japan.

Despite the political content of the album and the specific references in other songs to public figures of the time, the “John” of the title is not intended to refer to any particular person named John. It is being used in the British colloquial sense, where “John” can be employed in the same way as “mate”, “pal” or “Guv” to refer to anyone to whom one is speaking, particularly if the speaker does not know their name. At the time, this usage of “John” as a general means of address to others would have been particularly associated with blue-collar workers, who were the people being most strongly affected by the changes to manufacturing and trade referred to in the song.

The music video  for the song depicts a Japanese child walking through a factory searching for a soldier. The child is confronted by factory workers playing cards and geisha girls before he falls to his death from a scaffold and is discovered by a World War II veteran (played by Alex McAvoy, who also played the schoolteacher in Pink Floyd The Wall).

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